German Gref climbed into Uralkali

The structure of Sberbank - Sberbank Investments - acquired 10.18% of Uralkali's ordinary shares, the bank and the company said on Thursday. The bank bought the package from the Cyprus Rinsoco Trading, the beneficiary of which is Dmitry Lobyak.

Sberbank has considerable experience investing in the fertilizer sector. Buying Uralkali shares is attractive because it will provide a substantial return on investment, says a Sberbank spokesman. He did not disclose the amount of the transaction.

“The bank will decide on the future of the investment based on the market situation and potential profitability. The bank is also considering the possibility of selling, ”he added.

The capitalization of Uralkali on the Moscow Stock Exchange on December 6 was 252.9 billion rubles. Thus, the package acquired by Sberbank could cost 25.7 billion rubles.

Prior to the transaction, Rinsoco Trading was the second largest shareholder of Uralkali. Lobyak had the same share as the main owner of the company, Dmitry Mazepin, - 19.9%.

Lobyak is a fellow student and longtime partner of Mazepin. He joined the Board of Directors of Uralkali in 2016. A year later, he became a shareholder of the company, buying 19.9% ​​of the shares from Onexim Mikhail Prokhorov.

Mazepin together with Prokhorov acquired shares of Uralkali in December 2013 from the structures of Suleiman Kerimov and his partners. 19.99% cost Uralhim $ 3.7 billion. A $ 4.5 billion loan was attracted for the purchase. Onexim initially had 27% of the company, but then the company reduced its share to 20%. Representatives of Prokhorov never participated in the operational management of the company, all decisions were made by the Mazepin team, told by people close to the current shareholders of Uralkali and Onexim.